


Wake

by Toinette93



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Spock (Star Trek), Not Beta Read, POV First Person, POV Leonard "Bones" McCoy, friendship feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23285044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toinette93/pseuds/Toinette93
Summary: “There’s no other way, right, Geoff.”“No, Leonard. Not that we know of, and we don’t have time to look for something else".___Spock and Kirk come back from a mission badly hurt. The treatment has some rather damaging effects on Spock and McCoy has to help him through it. And to deal with having to cause harm to a friend in order to save him.
Relationships: James T. Kirk & Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Spock, K/S if you squint - Relationship
Comments: 14
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

I should have been down there with them. They went without a medical officer. I hate the decontamination chamber. It is so darn slow. But we can’t allow whatever attacked the landing party to spread to the ship. Yeoman Jones is already dead. Ensign Ho won’t survive much longer. Spock…He got there later, he should make it. Although that thing is likely to be to be more deadly to Vulcans than humans, from the initial data I’m getting. And the captain, well, I just don’t know. The hobgoblin gave him his oxygen the second he noticed the captain’s was spent when he got on the scene. How that’s logical beats me. But it might have saved his life. Just might. On the other hand it could still have killed them both, while Spock was not even supposed to be there. Bloody hobgoblin.

The door’s finally opening. Geoffrey Mbenga goes to Spock. I motion Chapel to check on Ho, and an orderly to pick up Jones body, after checking he’s dead. I rush to the captain. He’s unconscious, and barely breathing. I hypo him with a tri-ox compound, and get an oxygen mask on him. Chapel’s done with Ensign Ho. She’s dead. I get Jim on the stretcher, and Mbenga does the same with Spock. The half-elf also has oxygen on his mouth, and I saw Mbenga sedate him. Given the adverse effect this type of drug often has on the Vulcan, it must be pretty bad for Geoff to use the stuff. The readings I’m getting on my scanner suggest there is some of that substance in his system still.

“There still seems to be something in the captain’s bloodstream. I’ll need a complete analysis. Nurse?”

“I’m on it doctor.”

Mbenga asks the same thing of her, Christine takes the sample and leaves. She’s one hell of a good biochemist. She’ll find whatever that is. We make our way to sickbay, and get Spock and Jim on the biobeds of the intensive care section, in two separate rooms, with restricted access and full monitoring, as long as we don’t have more information about what that is. I get the captain stable enough for now, but as long as there are those trace elements in his blood, he is at risk. I hope Christine finds out what it is. For now I cannot do more for the captain. I don’t even know how long he was without oxygen. Not very long probably, but there could still be some damage.

I get out to check on Spock. Mbenga is going out as well.

“How’s the captain?” he asks

“Stable for now, but we need these analysis. What about Mr Spock.”

“The same. I don’t know if there will be any effect on his brain. How long did Chapel say she would need?”

“About an hour. Can you monitor both our patient? I’ll ask the bridge for Spock’s team mission report. Get Dr Sanchez to send me his medical report on them as well. He cleared them from duty right?”

“Yes. I’ll do that.”

“Good.”

I get to my office and press the button on my computer console.

“Sickbay to bridge, McCoy here.”

“Bridge, Scotty. Do you have any update on the captain’s and the first officer’s status, doctor?”

“They’re stable for now, but we still have a way to go to understand what happen and to treat them appropriately. Did Spock’s team members file their reports yet. Who was in there again?”

“Yeoman Tamura and Ensign Sieger. Let me check. No their written reports are not in yet. But I did debrief them. I can summarize it to you, doctor.”

“Yes, please, Scott, go ahead, and forward the written reports to my office when they get there too.”

“What they told me is, they were surveying the planet, studying unusual atmospheric patterns, in full environmental suits. The air was not breathable down there, and the patterns were disturbing communications channels with the ship. They had made two teams, to cover more ground, remaining in communication range. The officers said Spock heard something on his comm channel and they went running back to the other team. When they got there, captain Kirk’s team was already surrounded each by a wee gas cloud, and they were unconscious. Spock failed to contact the ship and sent his team to get help while he tried to get them out.”

“He went to the captain first, found out he could not get out, and gave his oxygen to the captain. Then we managed to beam them up. Did they get readings on the cloud? To complete those from the decontamination chamber?”

“Aye, doctor, they’ve been sent to your office already.”

“Thanks, Mr Scott. McCoy out.”

And there’s Chapel at my door. She got some preliminary results already. Now it’s time to try and find a solution to this thing.


	2. Chapter 2

I finally got the results in front of me. After two days of almost non-stop work, getting very little sleep, we’ve got a cure. It should work, and on Kirk, without any major adverse effects. The captain has been put in an artificial coma, to avoid the amount of pain he would be in if he were awake right now. And there is not much point in waking him up now. He’ll need monitoring and adjustment in doses but he should be fine within 24 hours of treatment. I can take care of it, and Chapel will take over after the first few hours. Right now, more than any of us, she needs sleep.

I don’t like what the data are telling me about what that treatment is going to do on our Vulcan though. The fact that he’s alive at all is probably due to his human half, and I can’t find it in myself to tease him about it. Even if it’s his trace amounts of red blood who saved the green-blooded hobgoblin this time.

The treatment should work. But it will be extremely painful. And with his Vulcan physiology he’ll have to be awake for it. He’d risk getting into some sort of trance otherwise and with what the gas has done to his brain, he would not be able to come back from it. I’ve seen Spock in extreme pain before, the Deneva mission. It sure ain’t an experience I wish to do again. I keep reading Mbenga’s report. And it says Spock has a high likelihood of being stripped bare of his control on the pain, maybe some of his emotional controls as well. I look up at Geoffrey Mbenga on the other side of my desk.

“There’s no other way, right, Geoff.”

“No, Leonard. Not that we know of, and we don’t have time to look for something else. I recommend Mr Spock be assigned one member of medical personnel to monitor him through it. I believe others should only be allowed in the room in the case of an extreme emergency. Such a loss of control for a Vulcan would be seen as very demeaning.”

“Beats me how that’s logical. It’s not the poor devil’s fault, now is it. Would you do it Geoff? I know you’ve been on shift for far too long, but you’ve interned on Vulcan and you’re probably the best qualified here.”

“Of course, Leonard. But I’ll ask him what his wishes are in the matter.”

“Yeah. Let’s go wake him up then.”

Christine is keeping an eye on the captain, still. Geoffrey and I walk into Spock’s sickbay room. I look at the readings. It’s still pretty bad. Spock’s brain still can’t control its breathing properly, and there is evidence of damage to his digestive system as well. His blood pressure is even lower than usual, and he seems to run a bit colder too. I take care of waking him up – I need more rounds of stimulants than I should – and of monitoring him. I let Mbenga do the talking. Of course when he wakes up, first thing he does is asking about the captain and his team.

“The captain is currently being cared for in the next room, Mr Spock. He is expected to make a full recovery once we begin treatment.” answers Mbenga. “But we are here to discuss your treatment options.”

Geoffrey explains everything to Spock. I don’t really listen, I’m keeping a close eyes on those vitals, he should not have needed that much stimulants to wake up, this gas has really been doing quite a number on him. Spock has not flinched at the announcement that he would lose his controls for about 12 hours. That’s pretty impressive I have to grant him that, but I’m pretty sure it ain’t heathy. I hear Mbenga finish his speech.

“And so I offer myself to be your physician, but anybody for the medical team would be ready to assist.”

“Please do not see this as my expressing doubts at your abilities, Doctor Mbenga, but I would request Doctor McCoy monitor me in these circumstances.”

Now, I did not expect that. I can’t see why he would ask me to do this. Mbenga is far more qualified than me, far more knowledgeable on the Vulcan brain, and better at emotional control. I tell Spock as much.

“Why would you want me in there, Spock? Geoffrey is far more qualified.”

“You do not have to grant this request, doctor, I understand that this may prove...”

I don’t let him finish.

“Of course I’ll do it, you green-blooded computer. But are you sure about this?”

“Quite sure, doctor.” His voice rasps at the end. We need to get started.

“Geoff, take care of the captain. Get Christine to rest and call her when you need a relief.”

Geoffrey nods and leaves the room. I lock it to my, his and Christine’s voice command once he’s gone.

“Well, mister Spock we’d better get started.” I say. Not the most eloquent piece of speech I’ve uttered. But I don’t know what else to say.

“Agreed, doctor”. The rasp in his voice makes me think there is no more time for conversation. He would no appreciate it anyway.

I press the first hypo into his neck.


	3. Chapter 3

The treatment will take about half an hour to take effect. It should last for about twelve hours, and I’ll have to adjust the doses every hour or so during the first 6 hours, depending on how he responds. But for now there is not much I can do. I keep an eye on the vitals. I get a display on them on my PADD. I am standing, and after a while, I notice I am pacing. I see Spock follow my movements with weary eyes. This is going to be a long night, and I am tired. I should sit down. The private room is small. There is only one chair, next to the bed. I look at the data on my PADD and on the monitor and over the bed. It’s saying the same thing. Nothing has changed in the past ten minutes. Spock is still in pain – although still controlling it for now, and he still has difficulties breathing. I dislike hearing this rasping breath, and not being able to do much about it. He is also starting to show signs of falling asleep. I wish I could let him, but I can’t. This is also abnormal. He can normally stay awake without an effort, sometimes for weeks. This could be the first signs of the loss of control that comes with the treatment. I can’t let him fall asleep right now, I cannot be sure he would wake up.

I walk towards him from the back of the room.

“Spock, you need to stay awake.”

He does not respond except from a small movement of his hand.

“Spock.” I repeat, a bit louder.

“Doctor?” he asks, voice still raspy and weak.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot let you fall asleep.”

“I will endeavor to stay alert, doctor.”

The silence goes on for a few minutes.

“Doctor.”

He says.

“Yes, Mr. Spock” I look at the readings. The pain indicator has started going up a bit. And there is nothing I can do about it.

“I am finding difficult to stay awake in silence at present. I am also unable to meditate. I would require your assistance to stay awake at this time.”

A look at the readings.

“I can’t give you any more stimulants, Spock. I had to give you too much to wake you up in the first place already.” I am exhausted myself. I get nearer to the bed. “I’m going to have to do that the old fashioned way, by talking to you.”

“That would be... acceptable, doctor.” He makes a small grimace, and turns his head away. I lean over him. The pain indicators are going up.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“The pain is manageable.” I look at the indicators again. Yeah, as I thought, he’s talking horseshit. Whoever proclaimed Vulcan could not lie had not gotten acquainted with Spock’s uncanny ability to bend truth backwards. This level of pain would be causing him difficulty at anytime. And right now he is losing the ability to control it. All he’s doing right now is concealing it. I can’t have him lose even more energy to pretend he’s alright.

“Like hell it is.”

Spock raises an eyebrow, and starts “I assure you doctor...” I cut him off with a sign of the hand.

I need to calm down. Spock is not at his strongest right now, and probably not up for one of our arguments. It could be a bit of a distraction from the pain, sure, but probably not for long enough to let him exhaust himself. I sigh, loudly.

“Listen, Spock, I…I know you’re managing to hide the pain right now, but it’s going to get harder and harder, and it’s going to be exhausting. You’ve probably lost the ability to really suppress it already. I’ll try to help you deal with it as best I can, and I’m sorry I won’t be able to do much. I need you to tell me how you’re doing so that I can get you as much help as I can and know when to administer the next dose. And you can’t afford to tire yourself by keeping up appearances. Not this time, Spock.”

He looks at me, and grimaces again. I bite my lip. Well, it seems he is taking what I’m saying seriously for once. Or he just cannot control it anymore anyway. I don’t know which would be more concerning. And I’m going to have to get him another dose in the next ten minutes. If the treatment is working, and not just making him suffer for nothing. It’s too early to tell, and we will only know after the second dose of this. Damnit.

“Where does it hurt most, Spock?”

“I am uncertain at this time doctor.”

Well, that was helpful. And probably Vulcan for everything hurts. Which would make sense. He must feel like his blood and his lungs are burning. It’s only going to get worse for quite a while. And I have to give him another dose.


	4. Chapter 4

“Are you ready for another dose Spock?”

“Affirmative.”

“I’m...” I start, but don’t finish the sentence. There is not much point in apologizing. I get the hypo into his neck as delicately as I can. He does not wince and I see it as a little victory. Still, a few minutes later he shows signs of pain again. I do my best not to hover. He is shivering. I get the temperature up a bit. I should have thought about that earlier. He is probably also losing his ability to keep warm in this ship that’s so much colder than Vulcan. But I’m tired. I pass my hands on my face, and go back to waiting, ready to adjust medication levels if needed, and making sure he stays awake.

“Doctor.”

“Yes, Mr Spock.”

“I am finding it harder to stay conscious. Your earlier offer of conversation would be most welcome.”

I’d forgotten about that. I have dosed myself with stimulants a while back, but he’s already past the recommended dosage, and he does not even drink coffee.

“Of course, Spock. What do you want to talk about?”

The rasp in his breath has gotten a little better. And the readings on the state of his lungs seems to agree with it. Looks like this treatment is working at least. But so far the improvement is only marginal, and he definitely won’t be able to talk much. He might try.

“As I am finding speaking difficult, I would suggest you chose the topic of conversation, doctor.” Well, or not apparently. Loss of control seems to be making him more reasonable. I hate it. A non-stubborn Spock is really alien – I mean, not in the _he’s not human_ sense, that’s par for the course, but in that _he’s not himself._ And even if Spock being himself is pretty darn annoying on a regular basis, I’ll have that over seeing him in pain any day.

“All right, Spock, gimme a minute.”

What am I going to talk to him about? He asked me to be there. I can’t really talk to him about ship news or other meaningless things now can I. And I won’t talk about Jim. He’d worry about him- and deny it – although, I’m pretty sure the captain will be fine. That has too much likelihood of turning into an argument anyhow. I adjust the drug doses and environmental control, to buy me some time.

I’ve spent time watching over patients over the years. To make sure they got better. To wait for a treatment to take effect. And sometimes as they were dying. It’s still hard, but I’ve got used to it, up to a certain point. Sometimes I’m glad that I manage this level of professionalism. Sometimes I hate myself for it. Even watching over friends has gotten a bit easier. I’ve done it so many times, with Jim and Spock, even Scotty on occasions. If I’m sure they’re getting better I can even feel pride.

And get ready to tease them when they’re back on their feet or well on the way. To go back to normal. I started doing that with my little girl. She’s a healthy kid, thank god, but she still had the normal amount of childhood illnesses, and I had my share of worrying over it. Although I did not stay with her as often as I should have. I was working at the hospital. Jocelyn did, more often than not. One of the reasons that did not work between us. But when Joanna got better I would start joking with her. And I still do, with my patients when they get better.

Spock looks at me, question in his eyes, as waves of pain go over him. Not the moment to get lost in thought. I might as well talk about her. I don’t do it too often.

“There was this time, a while ago, when my little, Joanna, my daughter, she had to stay home, because she was sick, had chickenpox, no idea how she caught that in this day and age. She was feeling alright, but she had to stay home to not get other kids sick. And she was so very bored. Jocelyn wasn’t immune so I was the one who stayed home. Spent a whole week with her. She was a bit stir-crazy but we played so many games. She was six at the time. I don’t supposed you ever played hopscotch, Spock.”

“I must admit I am unfamiliar with the term, doctor.”

“Well it’s a game in which you draw squares on a floor in a pattern and you throw a pebble on one square and then hop from one square to the next, avoiding the one the pebble fell on.”

“I see.”

“You’re not going to comment on how illogical it is?”

“It is a game meant for human children, doctor. I do not expect any logic from this particular source.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” I chuckle. “Very different from Vulcan children I’m sure.”

“Quite.” he says, and a few seconds later he tenses in pain again.

“Spock, are you…?”

“The pain in present, doctor, as expected. There is nothing to be done at this time.”

“Yeah, I know. And I’m going to need to give you another dose in a little while. I wish… Well, tell me if you need me to adjust environmental control. Or if I can do anything else.”

“I will doctor. Please continue your story. It is proving an adequate distraction.”

“Now, is it, really? Where was I. Oh yeah, hopscotch. So she always played that at school with her friends, a very sociable kids, always with a lot of friends, my Joanna. She got that from her mummy.”

I see Spock quirk an eyebrow at that.

“You appear to me as quite a sociable man, doctor.”

“Nah, I’m just a grouchy old country doctor. But she’s always been the life of the party. Even at six years old. And she loved playing hopscotch. And she nagged me, and nagged me and nagged me until I agreed to play. She’s an only child, so she got bored sometimes. I drew in the living room, and we played together, for a while. Jo yelled at both of us when she got home from work, because we had messed up the living room. I did the cleaning afterwards, of course. It was a good day. Do you…? I mean, I’ve known you for years, and I don’t even know if you have siblings. Do you?”


	5. Chapter 5

I don’t get an answer to my question. Spock starts trembling.  I gave him another dose a while back. Is it the temperature, or emotional controls falling apart? I get closer.

“Spock, what’s wrong?”

Did he just, sob? Shit. What should I do? My right hand his hovering over his shoulder, I would touch a human for comfort, but they always tell you not to touch a Vulcan.

“I…”

I don’t understand what he’s trying to say. He’s really sobbing now, and this surely won’t help his breathing.  Damn . I help him sit up a bit, and get him some water. I’m not sure what I’m telling him, some words I find, banalities really “It’s alright, you’re alright. It won’t last long.” Jim would know what to do, the two of them are quite close, but I’m the one who’ s there. I put a hand on his arm, mindful to avoid skin to skin contact. He seems to calm down a bit although he is still shaking, occasionally.  It’s good he stopped trying to speak. It would be painful, and what if he starts blabbing about things he doesn’t want me to know? I’ll never tell anything to anyone and I’d never tease him about it. Doctor patient confidentiality is a thing, even if he wasn’t my friend. And yeah, he is. I probably would not feel half that bad about this whole situation if he was n’t . 

I look at the time. I have to give him the last shot. Most of his vitals have started to get a bit better. But this is probably going to be the hardest moment from him, and I’ m not looking forward to it. He has been silent for a while now, only the occasional shiver and whimper – and of course the medical instruments – make it visible that he is still conscious. The pain is probably high enough by now that he will not fall asleep, exhausted as he may be getting. 

“Spock, it’s time for the last dose.”

“Yes, doctor. Please proceed.” he says. And although the effort is visible, he is still maintaining a semblance of control on his voice and tone. I have to admit an amount of admiration for the poor bastard. Dignified to the end. His neck has bruised, despite the care with which I have been administering the hypos. Side effect of the drug. I have to look for an unbruised piece of skin, on the other side of his neck. I get the drug into his system, and the injection site bruises too, despite all the care I have taken. He starts showing increased signs of pain almost immediately. 

I just… How is what I’m doing compatible with my oath?  _Primum non nocere_ , well I’m harming my patient right now. I know I have to, that it’s to help him, but still. Physicians and surgeons – especially surgeons – have dealt with this for centuries, millennia even. Sometimes, we hurt people to heal. But it’s become less and less common overtime. It’s thankfully not something I have to deal with all that often. Inflicting an amount of pain I would not be able to easily dismiss for myself. It does n’t get easier. 

They say in the faraway past, before anesthesia was invented, surgeons’ career were short, and the time during which they actually operated, even shorter. It really does not get easier. And this man, this Vulcan, I’m inflicting pain on, he’s my friend. 

Well,  I’ll have time to think about it later. Now is not the time, I need to try and help him as much as I can, even if this really is not much.  Not being able to help  sometimes, it’s part of the job. But not a part I’ve ever been particularly good at accepting. 

All I can do is tweak the environmental controls and keep him hydrated. And try to keep him calm, and comfortable. He’s breathing too fast. Spock, who’s always in so much control of himself is panicking right now. I’ve never seen him panic before. Thankfully the training kicks back in.

“Spock, can you hear me, you’ve got to breath with me, follow the pattern I’m setting, come on.”

I’m breathing in and out, faster than I would to calm down a human, and I won’t be able to keep this up for very long but this seems to help.

Suddenly, Spock grabs my hand. What is he doing? He’s a touch telepath… Pain. I can feel, no perceive it. He’s still filtering it out. And fear, shame, and so much loneliness, god. Is it only the drug doing this to him? There’s worry, too, for Jim. I think that’s what it is. It’s hard to tell. I… Come on Leonard, he’s probably not going to hold on for long. Maybe it’s a two-way link. Maybe I can help. I try to calm down, to feel reassurance and warmth as much as I can. He seems to feel something, and gets his hand out as if he’d been burnt. Well, so much for that.

“Doctor, I must apologize, I am not in complete control of myself.”

“That’s alright, Spock, I’ve worked the ER in a hospital for years, believe me I’ve had people do far worse to me that holding my hand.”

“It is not acceptable for me to impose telepathic contact to you without your consent.”

I shiver at that. Brings back a few rather nasty memories, I must admit. But this is quite different. It was not a meld, and he was not even doing it on purpose. He was just looking for comfort through touch as any human would do. He is still half-human after all, and no, I won’t point that out just now.

“Yeah, well, it was an accident. Jim’s fine, by the way.”

Is he actually blushing at that? I don’t know, his face is so flushed from the drug already that I can’t really tell. He is starting to breath faster again, too fast. I think the touching was actually helping.

“Does it help, Spock? I’m ok to help you with this if you need it, you know.”

“It...”

He does not finish, not really. I don’t take his hand, it would be a bit weird, I just put my hand on the exposed part of his shoulder. I feel the rush of his emotions again, but there is a bit more distance. He’s shielding probably, which is a good sign, but I can feel, fondness and exasperation in there nonetheless. I think it’s directed at me. Yeah, yeah, I love you too, you green-blooded hobgoblin. And for Jim something that I don’t know how to name, but that is so very strong even with all the shields. I don’t think I’ve ever felt something like that for someone. I wish I’d have learnt about this depth of feeling another way. Not that I really doubted he cared for Jim quite a bit more than first officer to captain. The way he acts with Jim is proof enough of that. Now I’ve felt it. And I can never bring it up again. I won’t betray his trust. The feeling recedes gradually. He’s probably starting to regain some sort of control. I focus on feeling calm. It seems to work. At least I will have been able to help somewhat. Wish I’d thought of it sooner. But at least I did help, a bit. 


	6. Chapter 6

It’s over. There is no trace of the gas, nor of the drug in the Vulcan’s system, and he’s sleeping it off in sickbay. He doesn’t need constant supervision anymore, he’ll be fine. I get up from my chair, wearily. I have not slept in days, and the stimulants have a way of catching up on you. I am a bit lightheaded, I stumble and have to catch myself not to fall. I walk out of the Vulcan’s room and toward the captain’s. I’ll check up on him quickly and then go to sleep.

Chapel is with the captain, checking his reading when I arrive. He is asleep, and she tells me everything has gone well and all traces of the gas have disappeared from his body too. And he has not been in any pain, thankfully. He’s going to be just fine. I pass a hand along the handle of his bed, reassuring myself of the fact.

“Doctor, you need sleep.” says Christine.

“I know, Chris, I know.”

I hear the whirl of her medical tricorder. So now she’s checking me up too.

“I’m alright. Just tired.”

“Exhausted, doctor, and how many doses of stimulants have you taken exactly?”

She takes me by the arm, and leads me into my office, where there is a cot where I often sleep. She helps me down and…

* * *

I wake up to somebody singing. There are not that many people who randomly spring into a wholly off-key version of row row row your boat that early in the morning. If it’s even morning. That has to be James Tiberius Kirk. I open my eyes, and yeah that’s Jim alright. In my office in sickbay. Sitting in my chair.

“Jim, what are you doing here? Don’t you have a starship to run?”

I get up from my bed with a groan, grab my medical tricorder and run it on Kirk.

“Bones, I’ve been checked a hundred times by Chapel, I’m fine.”

I look at the result. They seem to confirm it.

“Yeah, you seem to be, but you weren’t a few hours ago. I’m releasing you to quarters and you’re off duty for today.”

“Bones, I do have a ship to run you know?”

“Yeah, you do, and you need to be alive to do that. Now go get some rest. I’ll go check on Spock, and then go back to my quarters myself.”

I’ll get a shower, then my reports done. But Jim doesn’t need to know about that last part.

“Mbenga released Spock to quarters a couple of hours ago. Said he needed to meditate. He asked me to tell you he wanted to talk to you.”

“All right, I’ll go talk to the hobgoblin. Now get yourself out of my sickbay and to your own bed.”

“Yes, doctor.” he smirks. For him to be in such a good mood, he must have been told Spock would be just fine. And probably not about what he’s just been through.

The captain is out of the door and I’m alone in my office again. I get a look at Mbenga’s reports on the ship two senior officers condition. He says they are fully healed, and only need some rest. I trust Geoff, but I’m still going to go check on Spock. I guess I need to see for myself. And he wanted to talk to me didn’t he. Yeah, I know, I don’t normally make house calls unless there’s a vital emergency but it’s not much of a detour. And I’m going to get a sonic shower and change first, maybe even grab a coffee and a bite to eat.

* * *

It’s an hour later by the time I’m standing in front of Spock's door. I am oddly nervous, and shake my head in exasperation at my own brain. I guess I got used to whatever it is that I’m sharing with Spock. That weird kind of adversarial friendship we seem to have developed over the years. I guess I hope that what happened last night did not change that. I’d miss our arguments. Not that I’m going to tell him that. I huff and ring the door.

“Please come in.”

“Hello, Spock. How are you...” I don’t finish my sentence. Spock is seated at his desk reviewing a PADD. Just, what does he think he’s doing?

“Doctor?”

“Spock, what don’t you understand about released to quarter and off-duty for the day exactly? You’re supposed to rest and relax, to sleep or meditate, not to get back to work the moment your physician isn’t looking.”

There. I managed to stay calm with Spock for a grand total of ten seconds. Damn Vulcan. And now he’s going to explain to me how perfectly logical it is not to take any care of his health whatsoever. Then I’m the one who has to pick up the pieces.

“I have meditated for 3.02 hours, doctor, that was a sufficient amount of time. I am currently engaging in the review of a fascinating physics experiment, which is proving quite relaxing I assure you.”

“Spock” I try to stay calm. “What’s your position on this ship again?”

“First officer and Science officer, doctor, I assure you my memory is functioning adequately.”

And he raises an eyebrow. Of course he raises an eyebrow.

“Right, then this physics experiment is clearly part of your job as science officer. And you are currently off duty. You need to rest, Spock, is it that hard to understand?”

“The scientific paper is proving a good means after meditation to reinstate normal functions after this night’s events, doctor.”

Yeah, he had to bring that up. I deflate immediately.

“Spock, about this, I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all that. I wish I could have done better, I should have been able to, but the fact is that, even with Mbenga on board, we still don’t have enough knowledge and resources for you. I’m just...”

“There is no need to apologize doctor. I do believe the correct human response expected of me would actually be to thank you.”

“Nah, I did my job Spock.”

“You most certainly did more than that. I find your action to have been quite illogical, as is to be expected from you. Nevertheless...”

“Illogical, you green-blooded...”

I do not get to finish my rant, wherever it was getting. It’s probably a good thing. The door to Mr Spock’s quarter chimes. “Come in” answers the Vulcan in his perfectly calm voice, and in walks the captain.

“Gentlemen, I can hear you arguing from the corridor” he points towards the door. “And since I’m supposed to be on medical leave I suggest that instead of tearing each other apart, you accompany me to lunch.”

“That would be acceptable, captain.”

“Bones?”

“All right, but it’s on you.”

“As no one is paying for the meal, it is quite illogical to...”

I don’t listen to the rest of what Spock says this time. I’m just glad we’re back to normal. And we walk towards the mess hall. Soon we’ll be ready for our next assignment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey people !  
> This is the end of this little thing. Hope you enjoyed.   
> I have a few more ideas for McCoy dealing with complicated ethical stuff related to his job but I have so many WIPs - and I don't post anything that's not complete- that I don't know when I'm gonna have time for it. But it will come.   
> Thank you to those who read/ left kudos or comments.   
> Take care and LLap

**Author's Note:**

> Hello people,  
> Hope you are enjoying this thing.  
> Don't hesitate to tell me what you think, and please take care of yourselves in these difficult time. Stay at home and read fanfics as much as you can. It might actually save lives. :-)  
> Live long and prosper, dear folks.  
> Toinette out.


End file.
